Sunny Flicker

  ~~~~~
a northern flicker
grabs a piece of sunlight
on take-off
~~~~~

The flicker has not visited my feeders all winter for some reason but he came yesterday, to announce the return of the sun to my heart!  For anyone who has never seen one of these birds, they are magnificent, with markings on the back,  chest and neck , a perky red hat and, best of all, upon take-off,  they reveal a golden color on their wings which is not visible unless they are in flight!

I did not get a photo of the flicker yesterday but they have visited my feeders and my yard in years past, and these photos were taken then.

Flickers are attracted to the suet feeders in the winter especially and that is often when I can grab a photo.

The underside of the bird's tail and wings is a wonderful golden color, seen peeking out in the above photo. It is only when they are airborne that one gets to see how stunning the color is.

I am not very skilled at photographing birds in flight, nor do I have the proper equipment for that kind of photography.  In the above photo, I was able to catch the flicker as he departed the feeder with his fill of suet. (He's in the upper left corner of the photo.)  

Here is a link to a wonderful photo displayed on Flickr (appropriately enough) showing the bird in flight.

 Yellow Shafted Flicker in Flight

  Shared with Recuerda Mi Corazon 'Haiku My Heart'